The heavyweight bout served as the featured contest of Saturday night’s “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson” event, which took place at place at
Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., near Chicago. The evening’s main card aired on Showtime.

With an electric crowd chanting the names of both fighters, the two MMA legends went toe-to-toe at the opening bell.

Emelianenko rushed forward and seemed to connect flush with his famed leaping punches, but a staggering Henderson answered right back. Powerful punches winged from the upper deck as Emelianenko appeared to be on wobbly legs in the early going. Still, as blood trickled from his right eye, he slowed the pace down in the clinch and looked to recover. Emelianenko received one warning for grabbing the fence, but Henderson ultimately backed away and reset on the feet.

On the restart, both fighters were much more patient, and Emelianenko landed a crisp right hand. A flurry moments later sent Henderson to the canvas, and the finish looked imminent. It was, but in shocking fashion.

In a stunning turn of events, Henderson scrambled out the back door and landed a thunderous uppercut to the chin by firing underneath Emelianenko’s right arm. The Russian collapsed to the canvas, and a few additional blows forced referee Herb Dean to halt the bout with 48 seconds remaining in the opening round. The final series of punches appeared to land directly to the back of the head, but Dean had already made his decision.

Henderson (28-8 MMA, 3-1 SF) has now earned three-straight victories, and at 40 years old is 6-1 in his past seven fights. Emelianenko (31-4 MMA, 1-3 SF) has now dropped three-straight fights and will be forced to answer further questions about his retirement.

Tate taps Coenen, claims title

In the night’s co-feature, Miesha Tate overcame a year of inactivity to unseat Marloes Coenen and claim Strikeforce’s 135-pound female championship.

In the opening frame, Tate pressed forward quickly and moved into the clinch behind a slapping low kick. However, she was unable to work the fight to the floor. On the restart, Coenen landed a crisp left hook, but Tate continued to press forward, looking for the takedown. Coenen fell back as she looked for a guillotine choke, but Tate survived a few tense moments before popping her head out and setting up in side control. Coenen remained slippery underneath as she defended, but Tate spent a lot of time in top position.

In the second, Tate against pushed in again from the opening bell. Coenen again defended well, but this time she was able to transition to the back in a scramble, and she began to work for a rear-naked choke. Tate bucked and rolled but simply couldn’t shake Coenen lose. Nevertheless, her defense was sound, and she lived to see another round.

Tate looked more willing to trade in the third, but she quickly capitalized on a Coenen kick and dumped the fight to the floor. Coenen stalled from underneath, and Tate found little room to capitalize. Following a restart, a winded Tate shot in again and earned a takedown. Coenen looked immediately for a kimura, but Tate continued to press in. Coenen swept to top at the end but with no time to capitalize.

As the championship rounds opened, Tate again looked to stand. The shot came one minute in, and Coenen tried unsuccessfully to grab a guillotine choke as they fell. Listening to her corner, Tate moved to side control and rode heavy as the Coenen tried to escape. Just as it appeared Coenen might work free, Tate locked in an arm-triangle choke and hopped off to the side. Coenen tried to desperately to defend, but she had no choice but to tap and relent her title.

The new champ Tate (12-2 MMA, 3-1 SF) has now won six-straight fights and will likely face former champion Sarah Kaufman in her first defense. The loss was Coenen’s (19-5 MMA, 2-2 SF) first-ever submission defeat.

Bloodied Kennedy decisions stagnant Lawler

In middleweight action, Tim Kennedy made a claim for a second shot at Strikeforce’s 185-pound title with a one-sided win over Robbie Lawler.

In the opening round, Kennedy stayed at distance early, looking to avoid Lawler’s power. Kennedy landed a low kick to the cup early, but the stoppage was only brief. Lawler used frantic footwork to slow Kennedy, and he defended a few takedown attempts with ease. But Kennedy continued to press in and did finally take the fight to the floor. Still, Lawler scrambled free and back to the feet.

Kennedy earned a clean takedown in the final minute and advanced all the way to mount. Lawler returned to the feet, but Kennedy appeared to have done enough to take the frame.

In the second, Lawler’s pace slowed a bit, as Kennedy continue to work from the outside. A stiff left landed as Kennedy shot in for the takedown, but he continued to press in. The shot proved to be a direct hit, as Kennedy began to spew blood all over the mat. However, it was coming from the nose, and referee Herb Dean allowed him to work an effective ground-and-pound attack for the remainder of the round.

Lawler had some bounce in his step as the third frame opened, and Kennedy looked to be fading, perhaps finding it difficult to breather with a mangled nose. Still he delivered a few successful front kicks while looking to defend the inevitable Lawler strike. Save for a wild, flying kick that missed, it never really did. A late takedown from Kennedy secured the win, and Lawler’s explosiveness was never really on display.

“Robbie is fast, explosive, and an amazing wrestler,” Kennedy said. “He was looking to counter after everything I did, so I had to watch out for that. The scrambles felt like a bloody slip and slide but I think I got the best of them.

“I figured he would go for broke in the third round, knowing he was down on the scorecards, but he maintained that same passive style, which surprised me.”

Kennedy (14-3 MMA, 5-1 SF) is now 6-1 in his past seven fights. Lawler (18-8 MMA, 2-4 SF) is just 2-4 in his past six outings.

Woodley opened in a low, wide stance, and Daley matched the posture as he looked to anticipate a shot. Instead, the fight went into the clinch, where Daly landed an illegal knee to the cup. On the restart, it was Woodley who opened up with a flying knee before again pressing into a clinch. Daley showed commendable takedown defense and remained on his feet, earning a restart as Woodley could not complete the takedown. Still, Woodley remained the more active fights, digging shots to the body inside.

Woodley finally got his takedown with a single-leg effort one minute into the second round. Daley did a decent job of defending underneath and holding for a stand-up, but Woodley kept the pressure high on the floor, preventing referee “Big” John McCarthy from standing the action until there were less than 30 seconds remaining. Daley tried to uncork something lethal in that short span, but it didn’t come.

The final round so both men looking to strike early on, but a blocked Daley knee strike saw Woodley deposit him on the floor. Daley looked for a kimura when he hit his back, but Woodley had no trouble pulling free and setting up in half-mount. Daley scrambled to his knees halfway into the round, and he threatened with a few big strikes as he worked into top position.

The two returned to the feet for the final moment, and a final scramble saw Daley in a shocking omo plata submission attempt. Unfortunately, it missed, and he was forced to settle into guard while the fight slipped away. In the end, all three judges awarded Woodley the fight, 29-28.

“I’m very happy with the victory, but I wanted to finish him,” Woodley said. “Paul is a very tough guy, and he put me in some tricky spots. I could hear my family yelling ‘Get up!’ from cageside, and luckily I was able to follow those directions.”

Woodley (9-0 MMA, 7-0 SF) remains undefeated with the victory and appears primed for a shot at Strikeforce’s vacant 170-pound title. Meanwhile, Daley (27-11-2 MMA, 2-2 SF) has now lost two-consecutive fights but showed real signs of improvement in defeat.

Saffiedine shuts out Smith

In the evening’s main-card opening bout, welterweights Tarec Saffiedine and Scott Smith combined for a standup affair, but the traffic was largely one-way.

In the opening round, Saffiedine showed excellent footwork and superior speed, as he peppered Smith with punches to the head and kicks to the leg. A few straight punches and crisp kicks landed for Saffiedine, and Smith’s face showed the wear.

In the second, Smith again was just too slow to the punch, as Saffiedine picked him apart with rapid-fire combinations from both the southpaw and orthodox stances. A wobbled Smith tried to land a trademark homerun shot, but it was not to be. Instead, more punches and high kicks swung the momentum completely in Saffiedine’s favor. Smith was wobbled again late in the round, but Saffiedine let him off the hook, and the fight went to the final frame.

With a history of incredible comeback wins in his back pocket, Smith was in the fight as the third frame opened, but the miracle was not to come. Saffiedine continued to outwork his opponent in the final five minutes and cruised to a unanimous-decision win, 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27. A bloodied Smith pushed hard in the closing seconds, but it was not to be.

“That was the most difficult fight I have ever been in, and Scott is a very tough guy,” Saffiedine said. “I knew he was going to be durable coming into the fight. I’m happy with my performance, and I tried very hard for the finish but came up a little short.”

With the win, Saffiedine (11-3 MMA, 3-1 SF) rebounds from a disappointing loss to Woodley. Smith (17-9 MMA, 3-4 SF) has now dropped three-straight fights, including his first two fights at 170 pounds.

The first round was difficult to judge, as each fighter had their moments in the frame. However, neither really took control of the action as the striking went back and forth and neither fighter was able to gather an advantage in a few brief clinches.

In the second, the action again started out on level terms before Cavalcante took control in the latter half of the frame and seemed to earn a tapout that went unnoticed. Finally working the fight to the floor after some initial failure, Cavalcante was patient on top and eventually moved to mount. As Green rolled to his knees, Cavalcante locked in a rear-naked choke and squeezed. Green appeared to tap, but it went unnoticed by Herb Dean, and the bell sounded shortly after.

In the final round, Green seemed more comfortable snuffing out Cavalcante’s takedown attempts and countering well on the feet. The underdog seemed to claim the final frame with his adjustments, but the score was anything but evident. In the end, Cavalcante earned a narrow split-decision win, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Happy with the win, Cavalcante said he thought he had earned a submission but was excited either way.

“I thought it was a great fight for the fans, and I’m positive I won it,” Cavalcane said. “I thought that he had tapped while I had him in the choke, so I let off just before the round ended. I was surprised when they said we were going to a third.

“I’m happy with the win, and I’m excited to get back in the cage soon.”

Meanwhile, Green did not agree with the call.

“Honestly I thought that decision was ridiculous,” Green said. “I clearly won that fight, and I was not tapping from the choke. I was signaling to Herb that I was OK.

“He may have won that round based on the takedown but I definitely won the other two. I’ll be back and hopefully the judges won’t get in the way next time.”

Cavalcante (16-4-1 MMA, 1-1 SF) earns his first Strikeforce victory in this third fight for the promotion. Green (15-5 MMA, 0-1 SF) loses in his promotional debut.

Stinson planks Pamplona

Fighting under the Strikeforce banner for the first time, Tyler Stinson made an early claim for “Knockout of the Night” with a brutal dispatching of the highly respected Eduardo Pamplona.

Firing on all cylinders from the opening bell, Stinson staggered Pamplona with a quick flurry to start. Miraculously, Pamplona appeared to recover from the blows. However, Stinson wasn’t done and floored his foe with a crisp right that left his opponent out cold.

The entire process took just 15 seconds.

“We worked on that exact finish in preparation for this fight but we didn’t anticipate finishing that quickly,” Stinson said. “I laid a straight down the pipe, and once I followed up and connected, I knew it was over.”

Stinson (21-7 MMA, 1-0 SF) improves to 5-1 in his past six fights and is undefeated in 2011. Pamplona (15-3 MMA, 1-1 SF) sees a 10-fight win streak after suffering just the third loss of his career.

Davis grinds out decision win over Kedzie

In early female action, Canadian grappler Alexis Davis used a controlling gameplan to outpoint Greg Jackson product Julia Kedzie.

Kedzie found brief moments to threaten with strikes on the feet, but a relentless Davis simply closed the distance and pushed the action against the cage over and over again. Knees were traded inside, and both fighters looked for trip-takedown opportunities, but the action remained pinned to the fence with Davis the busier fighter.

As the bout wore on, the crowd voiced its disapproval of some of the slower moments, but Davis remained consistent with her blue-collar approach. A pair of takedowns did net one near-submission for Davis, and at the final bell, it was clear who would walk away with the win. Davis was awarded a unanimous-decision victory, 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.

“I felt good out there, but I’m still a little bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish for the fans,” Davis said. “Julie is a very tough fighter and she wanted to win badly. I’m just happy that the girls have been given a stage to show our skills and I’ll try my best to make it more exciting next time.”

In middleweight action, Derek Brunson and Lumumba Sayers went toe-to-toe for the better part of a wildly entertaining first round before the fight ultimately ended via submission.

Brunson was the aggressor throughout, earning the better of the striking exchanges and slamming his opponent to the mat on several occasions. But Sayers returned to his feet each time, returning fire in the process. The pattern was repeated several times until a head kick and flurry of punches sent Sayers to the ground. Brunson followed, and as a dazed Sayers still tried to push on, he was caught in a rear-naked choke with 27 seconds left in the opening round.

“I felt that it was a good fight for the fans,” Brunson said after the win. “We got caught up in some positions that I really didn’t want to be in. I wanted to stay tight and clean, but he caught me in the guard a little bit, so I’ll just have to improve on that and be better next time.”

Brunson (8-0 MMA, 2-0 SF), who turned professional in May 2010, is now undefeated through his first eight fights. Sayers (4-2 MMA, 0-2 SF) sees a two-fight win streak snapped but likely earned another look from the promotion with a gutsy, entertaining performance.

Salinas-Jones taps Humes in third

In the evening’s card-opening contest, heavyweights Gabriel Salinas-Jones and Bryan Humes engaged in a bit of a back-and-forth affair that ended with a third-round submission.

It was Humes who took the early advantage by controlling much of the opening round on the floor. But Salinas-Jones showed signs of what was to come by sweeping to mount in the closing seconds. In the second, Salinas-Jones took control of the momentum of the fight as Humes appeared to tire. Salinas-Jones finished the second again in mount, but Humes survived as his opponent failed to land enough punches to earn the finish.

In the final frame, Humes opened on the attack and dropped his foe with pinpoint strikes. But Salinas-Jones quickly recovered, swept to top position and locked in a fight-ending D’arce choke at the 1:19 mark of the final round.

“I’m happy to be in the big leagues, and I plan to stay on track and be fully prepared for every fight from now on,” Salinas-Jones said after his Strikeforce debut win. “I’m blessed to be here and glad that it went my way tonight.”

With the win, Salinas-Jones (5-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) has now won five-straight contests to open his career and has yet to fight to a decision. Meanwhile, Humes (6-2 MMA, 0-2 SF) has now dropped two-consecutive contests after opening his career with six-straight wins.

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